South Island

Dave and Ditte roll their camper van down the West Coast from Karamea to Ross - notching up some magic mid winter campsites and crisp 'n' clear mid winter rides along the way.

Post-lockdown time warps us back 20 or 30 years to a quieter NZ. Jamie Nicoll suss's out some local adventures to fill your bucket list. First up, an accessible get-away to the upper Hurunui River and its legendary hot pools.

A big round of Dutch cheese was moving up the South Island as the C19 elevator dropped down to level two. Ditte and I popped back into travel mode with a mighty sigh of relief and exuberance for freedom. First stop the Heaphy.

Dave Mitchell was amongst the small clan of kiwis who embraced the then embryonic pursuit of mountain biking back in the eighties. The fashion was appalling - a mash of tramping kit, sagging lycra and sometimes even gaiters over leather walking boots. Shocks, clipless pedals, disk brakes and dropper posts were yet to be imagined.

In the last of their pre-covid-19 adventures, Dave Mitchell and Ditte van der Meulen revisit the hilly finger of land separating Lake Hawea from Wanaka - scoring the obligatory fisheye panoramas from the windswept tops.

Dave and Ditte link together stops for gelato and burgers (in that order) with honest exploration of Ben Lomond and the Queenstown hinterland.

The day started like any other. The sun came up in the east and slowly but surely persuaded the clouds to exit stage left. Our high country grand loop began at Moke Lake on the Ben Lomond Station Farm Road near Queenstown.

Sasha Smith recounts an entrancing six days of great food and better company, cycling around the Catlins at the bottom of the South Island. 

Back in the late eighties, mountain bikers use to ride big bloody heavy steel bone shaking and crushing mounts (and lived in shoe boxes in gutter), suspension was courtesy of Fisher Fattrax tyres and the rider's arms and legs, but boy did we enjoy the wild Skippers Pack Track.

Wanaka town floats at the edge of a beautiful blue lake cradled below a stunning rim of rocky and jagged mountains brimming with mountain bike trails to explore.

Behind the sprawling metropolis of Hawea township Nook Road heads to the start of the one and only Grandview Mountain Track. The name says it all.

Deane Parker, Rose Green and Rod Harrhy tackle a variation on the classic Cass-Lagoon backcountry circuit - taking the 'direct line' up Craigieburn Valley ski field.